Well, prepared this with my favourite mad scientist approach as a stovetop chai. Threw in some milk, then some water, 1 tsp or so of this and a pinch of highland chai mix to kick it up a notch (I was concerned this wouldn’t stand up to the stovetop treatment).

The smell is unusual – almost pumpkin-like, probably more of a ginger smell than anything but my brain associates it with pumpkin pie. I don’t really like pumpkin. Time to overcome weird smell aversions! I know I like this tea, we’ll see how I feel about it with the heated milk, etc.

First sips: Too milky. Darn. I don’t really like milk at all, haven’t ever (apparently). I thought I had used little enough that it would bother me, but the milk UGH is still there. This might get poured out just because I don’t have it in me to drink anything milk-like right now. I’ve had a delicious chai latte at the market – maybe the key is to have steamed milk? (as opposed to just heating it on the stove with the water). I won’t be adjusting the rating for this tea because it’s not the tea’s fault that I drowned it in milk. : (

Try with soy milk. I can’t drink milk (not lactose-intolerant, but allergic to a preservative enzyme), so I opt for soy milk. If you use a favored one – try Very Vanilla by Silk – you’ll get that latte feeling. I usually don’t drink (soy) milk w/tea, but once in a while I treat myself to a chai latte from Starbucks, and I get it with soy. Just a thought!

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Try with soy milk. I can’t drink milk (not lactose-intolerant, but allergic to a preservative enzyme), so I opt for soy milk. If you use a favored one – try Very Vanilla by Silk – you’ll get that latte feeling. I usually don’t drink (soy) milk w/tea, but once in a while I treat myself to a chai latte from Starbucks, and I get it with soy. Just a thought!

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I’ve been drinking loose tea since 2010 and my tastes have changed a lot over those years. For the last few, I’ve been a fan of unflavoured Chinese blacks and shu puerh. I still drink other things, but that’s where I am.

I live in a rural area with my husband, cat, and soon to be firstborn. I love tea, reading, doctor who, knitting, crosswords, board games, the marvel universe, and lots of other things.

I’m not often rating teas numerically any more but I want to leave this to explain my past ratings:
I try to only log teas once or twice because I drink a lot of the same ones repeatedly. My rating is based on my perception of the tea at first tasting and is adjusted if anything notable occurs in subsequent cups. I may also factor in the price and customer service but try to note that when I can.

81 – 100: These are great teas, I love them, regularly stock them or savour them as unique treats.71 – 80: These are solid. I drink them, I like them, I may or may not keep them on hand regularly. This is still good stuff.61 – 70: Just okay. I can drink it, but it doesn’t stand out to me. Might be lower quality, not to my taste, or outside my comfort zone. 41 – 60: Not likely to keep drinking…hoping hubby will enjoy!0 – 40: No thank you, please. Take it away and don’t make me finish the cup.